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Alan Wilkinson on how franchising has fared in 2012 and what it can offer in the year ahead

 As we come to the end of what has been another challenging year for the UK economy, we should consider how franchising has fared throughout 2012, and look at the opportunities that it offers for 2013.

Thankfully, the UK has at last come out of a double-dip recession and medium- to long-term forecasts are looking better, if not great, for the year ahead. It is worth noting that the NatWest bfa 28th annual survey of the franchise industry, published in May of this year reported that franchising had grown by 8 per cent in the last year, and now contributes £13.4 billion to the UK economy. Equally as impressive is the fact that franchising now employs 594,000 people in the UK, an increase of 73,000 on the year before.

Anybody thinking of coming into franchising, therefore, be it as a franchisor who wants to expand their business, or as a franchisee who wants to buy into a tried-and-tested brand, can feel confident that franchising has remained robust and strong throughout the last few years of economic hardship.

There are now 929 business format franchises in the UK. This number has continued to rise year on year, with new franchisors recognising the opportunity that franchising offers to expand their businesses into new geographical locations by starting up a franchise. If you have a business which is tried and tested, can be duplicated, is easily learned by somebody with relevant skills, will work in multiple locations around the UK and which generates good profits, then perhaps you should think about franchising it.

We have seen many new concepts enter the franchise market place this year. Some have entered sectors already well represented by other franchisors, and some have brought a new concept or business model which has not been franchised before in the UK. With the help of a good, qualified franchise professional to guide you, there is every chance that you may be able to position your brand to be one of the success stories of 2013 and beyond.

The number of individual franchise units also continues to grow, and now stands at over 40,100. Each year, around 3,000 people decide to purchase a franchise. Most take on new franchises, and some purchase an established business from an outgoing franchisee who wishes to realise their investment and sell up.

If you are somebody considering which franchise brand to buy into, there are many different options. You may choose to look at a well established brand, that may have many, perhaps hundreds of franchisees already. Alternatively, you may want to look at one of the newer franchisors, who may only have a handful of franchisees, but who may have found an exciting niche in the market, and may be offering early entry opportunities.

Whatever your preference, a good franchisor should be able to demonstrate how their systems and procedures operate, and have a proven track record in their business, thus increasing your chances of success; 80 per cent of franchise businesses surveyed said that they think franchising gives them a competitive advantage over nonfranchised businesses, as they have the support of a larger brand.

One of the major advantages that franchises have over other small businesses is the ability to learn from the best practices of a network of like-minded, self-employed individuals, who, when times get tough, dig deep and look for the opportunities that do present themselves in the marketplace.

We have seen evidence this year of retail franchisors adjusting the type of stock that they hold in order to attract sectors of the market that can afford or need these new products. We have also seen new concepts enter the franchise marketplace to enable them to expand into new markets more quickly than organic growth would usually allow, to take advantage for example of a change of legislation which has created an opportunity, or to bring a new product or service to market quickly.

I believe that the UK economy still has a rocky road ahead, and that 2013 will still see hard times for businesses both large and small. I also believe, however, that franchising will continue to grow, and that new franchisees and new franchisors will be able to enter the franchise market successfully, and grow more quickly than their nonfranchised competitors.

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